When we are offended, and refuse to let those feelings go, it creates fertile ground for a root of bitterness to grow within us.  And that spiritual root, like natural ones, can go deep.  Bitterness poisons us.  It corrupts how we feel and think.  It's rot that eats us internally until it destroys us externally.  And left unchecked it destroys our relationships with others and most importantly, with God.

Jesus was very clear about how we, as Christians, have to forgive others or Father God won't forgive us.  In Matthew 6:14-15, He says, "For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."

Sometimes people hurt us very badly; and naturally speaking, it can feel impossible to forgive them.   But with Christ, all things are possible (Matthew 19:26); and His love is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost (Romans 5:5); whose temples we are (1 Corinthians 6:19).  Because the One Who is Love lives within us, we have the power to let it go.  To Let. It. Go.  That's not to say the process is easy or quick. But we, in Christ, can uproot bitterness, and replace it with love. With letting go comes freedom, our freedom; and who Jesus, the Son, makes free, is free indeed (John 8:36)!

The key is to ask God to help us remove offense and the root it produces in our lives.  Removal comes through asking God's forgiveness, repenting, and letting whomever or whatever hurt us go.  It means deciding not to hold on to hate we may have felt or feel toward those who have offended us. Hating others does nothing but hurt us and grieve God. He is the Judge, and He will deal with those who've treated us wrongly.

Another key thing to keep in mind is that sometimes distance and time are necessary to remove remnants of the bitter root.  Don't beat yourself up or quit trying when it's difficult to forgive; know that He understands and is helping you. With the Lord's help, those remnants go too.  We then have room for the fruit of the Spirit to thrive in our lives.  That fruit includes love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  It's good fruit that we and those around can enjoy every day, and we will never get too full!  Meanwhile the offense and bitterness burdens are lifted, the pain fades, we heal, and are able, with Christ, to move on.